4th Annual Worst of Houston Awards Call for Entries

Hurray! We are opening our CALL FOR ENTRIES for our 4th Annual Worst of Houston Awards.
As always, we will be shining a bright light on all despicable Houston
phenomena from municipal government to local culture. Send submissions in word doc form to editors@freepresshouston.com

Music review: Born Liars, Guitars, Lazy Horse at Rudz 11/26/2008

Some label news, some SSS news, and a whole lot of rock and roll at Rudyard's the day before Thanksgiving. (Link)

2008 Sammy Awards

If you have not voted yet in The Skyline Networks 2008 Sammy Awards, Do so now. Make sure and nominate Delicious Milk in as many categories as possible.
VOTE HERE KIDDOS

This Week's Preview! For the week of November 28th 2008

Kind of a slow post-Thanksgiving week. Sure your belly is full and all but that doesn't mean there aren't some choice shows and that you shouldn't lift your henie off the couch and burn some of those calories. There's a Hardcore Birthday party, a DJ's Birthday party, some awesome Indie pop, and a whole lot more. (link)

Music review - Bright Men of Learning and the Gary at Rudz 22 Nov 08

Yup, chillin' with the BMOL. If you wanted one of those crazy rock and roll shows with blood, sweat, and beer, this wasn't gonna be it. But if you wanted to hear beautifully crafted songs performed with some soul then this was the show to kick your feet up to. (link)

My Thoughts on Austin....

Geez. I could poop on the whole city of Austin. The Chronicle today posted this article about how Austin is losing it's self-proclaimed title as 'Live Music Capital of the World'. I mean, yeah, they got a shit-ton of festivals from outta town coming through and a city infrastructure that supports live music unlike our shithead municipality. But let's be frank: What has Austin produced musically in the lat 10 years or so? Spoon and Fastball? Who am I forgetting here? My guess is that any one of the millions-selling H Town rappers like Paul Wall or Slim Thug have outsold any Austin act. Also, everytime I o to Austin, despite seeing so many attendees at shows, they rarely are watching the bands and savoring the music as we do. But that is not the point. My point is that Austin is full of frat boys and Whole-Foods hippies and I hate them. I hate them to their core. Almost as much as I hate Dallas folk. We will kill them first. As for all the 'progressive' types that move to Austin for a more suitable environment, they do so at the expense of leaving behind the struggle they so adamantly are proponents of. You know what they say, the rats are the first to jump ship.

This Week's Music Preview - November 21, 2008

Oh man, I just know anything I write about that picture one the right I'll regret tomorrow. Anyhow, it's Turkey slaughter week here in The USA. That means someone is going to try to convince you the fauxTurkey tastes as good as Ben Franklin's favorite bird instead of just making the really good vegetarian meal you know they could make, you'll have to bite your tongue at the sugary myth served kids about the early European Settlers and the Native Americans and treat it more as a parable of cooperation and what this country should be rather than a history lesson, and you'll likely have to figure out whose parents (and the accompanying eccentricities) you'll likely spend the holiday. Yes, that's what motivated our spotlight this week - the need for Booze! Lots of it!

Anyhow there is a lot going on this weekend - music and sidewalk painting, a benefit for a beloved axe wielder, a solid blues show, and a whole lot of metal. So check it out. Gobble Gobble. (link)

16th Annual ARTCRAWL COMING TO HOUSTON THIS SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22nd

The 16th Annual ARTCRAWL will take place Saturday, November 22nd. Join us for lots of great activities as we go green this year! In addition to over 80 artists and dozens of art spaces and studios the ARTCRAWL will feature biking and walking paths to encourage visitors to take advantage of the beautiful environment in our quirky downtown district. From the brick lofts and warehouses of the East End to the industrial outback of the Warehouse District a bike ride on a brisk fall day can help anyone appreciate Houston a little more. Involving the visitors in a dialogue with Houston artists in their living and working spaces, the ARTCRAWL strives to excel in arts expression, collection and education.

FREE is the password, the abracadabra of the ARTCRAWL; there is no entrance fee to any of the warehouses.

The ARTCRAWL will have extended hours this year from 10 am to 8 pm to accommodate visitors who want to visit it all, but never have the time. Established artists, emerging talents, food, entertainment and gifts are everywhere! Take advantage of the incredible range of artists in Houston to take home a piece of artwork that you can cherish forever. Organized by volunteers from its inception, the ARTCRAWL has grown from a small event into the experience it is today, highlighting not just the artists but the neighborhoods, the buildings and the restaurants and businesses in them. It is a true grassroots success story. There’s too many new people and new places to say you’ve seen it before!

Visit artcrawlhouston.com for all our latest updates

Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design

The title states Dressed: A Century of Costume Design. You can believe this expansive book covers the entire history of film as you glance through page after page, picture after drawing of famous actors in the clothes that made them famous. Starting with silent stars like Mary Pickford and covering each decade in cinema to the present this book by Deborah Nadoolman Landis spotlights the various and in most cases anonymous costume designers responsible for looks that subsequently changed their era's fashion.
Published by Collins Design the book has copious references and notes, an introduction by Anjelica Huston and runs over 560 pages. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will host as Landis presents a lecture based on her book, followed by a reception and book signing tonight starting at 6:30 at the Brown Auditorium Theater. (continued)

Tracy McGrady Endorses Wheelchairs

I fully understand that most of you are still currently under the spell of the man I will forever refer to as Tradey McGrady. And I'm fine with that, for the sole reason of emerging as a genius in the end. But my opinions are not here nor there when it comes to my avid support of Darrell Morey and his Jedi-management of our beloved Houston Rockets.
Tradey is clearly, whether you want to admit it or not, riddled with injury. He's beyond the industry term- "injury prone." But that doesn't mean he's a bad player. That doesn't mean that he's incapable of playing stellar defense. It doesn't mean that we need to trade him for futures in oil; although I think the Saudi's would definitely make the trade.

It means that the coaches need to assess the situation for what it is. If the team needs to preserve Tradey's rickety old body for the post-season, then he should not start and come off the bench instead. How deep would our roster be then? Marianna's Trench deep, my friends.
Tradey would still face all the same players during the game but he would spend the majority of his time dismantling the the opposition's second team. And due to Mr. Morey's wizardry, the Rockets would not go wanting for starters.

Yao Ming, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Rafer Alston: sounds like a pretty damn good starting lineup to me. Not to mention, I still haven't figured out how teams would score on us. Thankfully, that's not my job. My job is to present a problem and offer a solution, which I've done.

For those of you who remain adamant that Tradey should be a starter for reasons of wage rate, I have this to say: There was a time when the Houston Rockets paid Tradey McGrady large sums of money because he was an elite player; but now he's not an elite player, so they pay him lots of money to do whatever the hell it is they want him to do. If being the highest paid bench player in the NBA is what they want from him, then he should swallow that cancerous hero-complex of his and just do it.
The Houston Rockets are a team, not several players supporting one player. That's the Lakers and the Mavericks.
And by the way, MAY THE MAVERICKS BURN TONIGHT.
Predictions for the Game, anyone?

Special Aprl 5K dispatch from Noise and Smoke II

Much like Earnie Pyle's WWII dispatches, intrepid reporter/photographer April 5K (Alarma/Guitars) was in the trenches of Saturday's Noise and Smoke and survived to provide you with her account of the mayhem. (read it in the Music section)

Dr. Ron Paul is still clutchassclutch:The Dollar Standard Is Coming To An End

The Mydolls

In preparation for Saturday's Noise and Smoke we play five questions with Houston's classic punkers The Mydolls who will be playing a one-off reunion show for the festival. Check it out. (link)

This Week's Preview! For the week of November 14th 2008

Oh man you know it Woozyhelmet! Pass that coffee! You're gonna need it Sunday morning becasue, man, there is a lot going on and most of it on Saturday. Let's see Noise and Smoke is a big deal, The Woozyhelmet album release will be a blast, Nameless Sound bringing The Thing will be amazing, Two Star Symphony....well it just goes on and on. So get your time tuners and make your choices....and that's only Saturday. the rest of the week is looking pretty cool too. So check out what's happening (Link)

Barnes slaps Rafer/ Rafer slaps Barnes/ Nash shoves blah blah blah/ Shaq Destroys Everyone

It's official! The Houston Rockets now have moxie, mojo, swagger, etc! Thank God! This "almost" melee broke out Wednesday night in Phoenix, just before the Rockets whalluped the Suns 94-82. If you look closely, you can see Ron Artest sitting patiently on the bench, watching the fight and behaving himself.

Today's sad news...

OK first off one of my favorite drummers, Mitch Mitchell, died (link) and secondly Notsuoh is closing (link). Man this is a lame news week for the music section.

New World Order

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

B L A C K I E Q&A

B L A C K I E has taken to the local music scene with a vengeance in recent months. His self-release of Wilderness of North America has been getting quite a bit of attention, and for good reason. We had the chance to ask him a few questions and his responses were as enigmatic as his music and character. He, thus far, is the only person I have interviewed that has responded in ‘flow’. (See #5) Ultimately, copy-editing the responses was doomed to be an exercise in futility.

So, here is the raw and real B L A C K I E.

HIMC Presents: Deserter Nov 14 at Rice Cinema

'Deserter' is the journey a deserting soldier and his young wife as they flee across the country to seek refugee status over the Canadian border. As they move from safe house to safe house, we get to know Ryan and Jen - two, shy, small-town kids from the Central Valley who joined the military because there were no jobs, and find they must make a heroic stand in order to escape an illegal and immoral war. 'Deserter' is a political road movie with one of the few happy endings that this war has given us.

After the Film Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War will talk about their experiences and facilitate a discussion.

Cosponsored by Iraq Veterans Against the War, Rice for Peace, Veterans for Peace, and Military Families Speak Out
Rice Cinema is Located at Entrance #8 to Rice University at University and Stockton Ave.

Sugar Shack - Hell Yes!

Fuck that vans warped shit. If you wanted to see some real punk ass shit you'd have been at The Continental to have seen Sugar Shack garage the place up in unrivaled sloppy glory. If you suck and missed out, someone posted some decent video on YouTube so check it out . You should hope to be this classy when you are older. (Link)

(Thanks BC on HUH for pointing these out.)

Tom Gabel In-store at Cactus today at 2PM

This week's Music Preview For The Obamarama Week of Nov. 7th

Wow, it's been quite the week hasn't it kids?!!! Obama's decisive victory on Tuesday hit fast and hard with McCain conceding quicker than someone hitting the tarp after a round with a young Mike Tyson. Wooo! Man that was sweet! McCain was gracious and Obama's speech was humble and inclusive suggesting that the last eight years are finally over and we're finally moving forward again as a country. Thank goodness! Now it's the weekend and that means Fun Fun Fun! If you're going to the FFF Fest in Austin - have fun and whoop it up! But don't sweat it if you are staying in town this weekend; your choices for how to celebrate the presidential election with an awesome soundtrack are nigh exhaustive. (Link)



Photo by Yuri Gripas from Canada.com

Mayor of Montrose single handedly repeals Houston's city-wide bike ordinance

by Mills-McCoin
“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile—and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep.” - The Great Shark Hunt 1979

With our nation in the grips of economic downturn and our city recently ravaged by a hurricane, there’s one man that stands above it all and serves as a beacon in the night- Chris Hutto, the Mayor of Montrose. He’s a humble man with the wisdom and gumption to make change.
Many of you take pleasure in riding your bicycles around our lovely town; but most of you do so unaware of a rather ridiculous city ordinance mandating that you register your bicycle with the fire department. The price of such registration is one lowly dollar; and has been since 1968.
As I understand it, you bring your bike to the fire department and fill out the registration form. After that, the form and the dollar are stapled together. What happens after that... well I’m not sure. But I do know that whatever it is that happens is a complete waste of taxpayer time and money.
READ THE WHOLE SHIT

..Trail of Dead Thursday at Warehouse Live

Everything We Know is Wrong

This popular viral video that's been making the rounds on the internet is fake. (read more here)

The stone that the Builder refused has become the head cornerstone

Vote!

Dude!
Go vote today!!!

Want to know who I am endorsing and why? See the music section (link)

Music review - Friday at Walters (Dannzig, Monocles, News on the March, Young Mammals) Saturday at Rudz (Anarchitex and Room 101)

This weekend was so good we cover two shows:


Part One:
The nutters Halloween show at Walter's with Dannzig (right), The Monocles, News on the March, and the Young Mammals. Yes, I'm lame and missed the Wild Moccasins. (Link)

Part Two:
We make a brief trip to Rudyard's on Saturday to see the classic Anarchitex and come face to face with what may be the best new band in Houston this year - Room 101! (Link)

My Cynical Election Day Scenarios

by Nick Cooper, nickcooper.com

Whatever the outcome of the election, it is likely that both the anti-Obama and pro-Obama segments of the population will come out of it outraged, further splitting society. Instead of working together to fix any of the serious problems, Americans might put energy into fighting each other.

Here are some possible scenarios…

If the Republicans allow Obama to be accepted as the winner without a big fight, a significant portion of the population will still think that the government has been taken over by socialists or terrorists. Various groups and maybe some governmental agencies could organize to impede the Obama government through spurious lawsuits and a massive PR campaign. These could resemble or outdo the Whitewater / Lewinsky investigations. Obama may try to reach compromises and if so, may be seen by his base as corrupt or collaborating.

If the Republicans manage to disenfranchise enough votes, rig enough voting machines, initiate damaging lawsuits, or assassinate Obama, they could possibly give McCain the presidency, or try to leave Bush in office until it is cleared up. Significant portions of the population might riot, giving the government pretext for more extensive police state tactics.

A right-wing leader figure could emerge who lacks McCain's "centrism." It could be someone like Palin, or possibly someone from outside the realm of politicians. This leader would probably be a white, and could use divisive issues like gay marriage or immigration to rally the masses, either trying to win a 2012 election or to develop extra-governmental power through associations with armed groups or clandestine services.

Another option is that we could all come together and live in peace and harmony, and get to work on fixing the messes we have made.

This month in the Free Press -Sugar Shack

One of Houston's most revered bands, Sugar Shack, reunites this month. We sit down and chat with them about why they are playing this one off show and the band's history. (Link)


Photo: Estrus Records